Bleeding Crescent Moon
by FanOfAction
Summary: Another one of Naraku's incarnations attack Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. Sorry everyone, but i have to warn you that there will be some Sesshomaru pummeling in my story. UPDATED! some brotherly bonding, but NON YAOI!
1. Attack From Another Servant

**Bleeding Crescent Moon **

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha…

Chapter 1: Attack from Another Servant 

Sesshomaru flinched when his keen nose picked up a strange scent. It wasn't the scent that made him wary. It was the aura, the power emitting from the source.

"Rin," he said without emotion. "Stay here with Jaken and Ah-Un.

"But my lord," Jaken started protest. He was cut off my Sesshomaru's glare.

After Sesshomaru had left his companions in a clearing in the forest, he set off at full speed to encounter the power he felt. The trees were a blur as he used his lightning speed so jump from branch to branch.

Then he sensed a very annoying and unfortunately familiar scent. It was Inuyasha and his gang...and the smell of blood...Inuyasha's blood. He looked just in time to see a half-demon, a monk, a demon slayer, and priestess, a kitsune, and a demon cat dash past a bush. Inuyasha was all scratched up, and blood dripped from his arm.

"There's a really powerful demon!" Kagome gasped. "We only fought it for a few minutes and all of us nearly got killed!

"Get away while you can, bastard!" Inuyasha snarled at Sesshomaru, and he and his group were gone, disappearing into the trees.

"Hn..." Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. There was nothing that could beat him. He wasn't the same as his half-brother Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru took off in the direction Inuyasha's group came from. As he neared his destination, he looked at his surroundings. All the trees were crushed or were basically blown to pieces. Debris was scattered everywhere and giant marks adorned the ground.

"Oh?" A cocky voice made Sesshomaru slowly turn around. A man wearing a solid-black cloak walked out of the trees. "Are you going to let me have some fun, too?" the man smirked. "You sort of smell like that half-breed I just beat. He ran away before I had time to REALLY have fun..."

Sesshomaru started to get impatient. But that wasn't all that caught his attention.

"You reek of that bastard Naraku," Sesshomaru said quietly but dangerously.

"Oh, him," the man in the black cloak scoffed. "Yes, he brought me back to life and gave me power. He sent me to kill that...hm...what was his name...Inuyasha, I believe..." the man then smirked. "And his half-brother, Sesshomaru. Do you have any idea where I can find him?"

Sesshomaru was ready for that. "You're looking at him," he replied calmly. "So you're actually going to try to kill me?"

"Yes," the man in the cloak, yawned, acting bored. "The half-breed ran away before I could kill him, but I'll get him later. Anyway, my name is Natsumi. Prepare to die...Sesshomaru..."

Natsumi pulled out a jagged pitch black sword with a red handle and pointed it at Sesshomaru.

"I don't really have anything against you, but since Naraku brought me back to life, I'm his servant," Natsumi said carefree.

Sesshomaru answered by pulling out Bakusaiga.

Natsumi shot a black blur at Sesshomaru, who gracefully avoided it. Sesshomaru sent a blast from Bakusaiga, and just as it was about to hit Natsumi, he disappeared.

This almost came to slightly surprising Sesshomaru for a moment.

"Too slow!" A voice called out from behind him. Now this time Sesshomaru couldn't stop his eyes from widening. He hadn't even felt Natsumi's presence! Sesshomaru snapped out of his daze when Natsumi struck him in the back with the sword, shattering his armor and cutting through his skin. Sesshomaru leaped out of the way and landed twenty feet from Natsumi.

Sesshomaru hissed inside his head. There was something mysterious about Natsumi. The fact that he can travel at high speeds and not have his presence detected was a pretty good advantage.

He winced as hot blood oozed down his back, staining his hair and kimono.

Sesshomaru shot another beam from Bakusaiga towards Natsumi. Then he noticed Natsumi's sword was glowing an eerie red. Bakusaiga's beam slammed against the black sword, and Natsumi held it strong.

Then...the beam disappeared...totally absorbed by the sword.

Sesshomaru tried not the let the shock show on his face, and his stoic expression turned angry. He swung Bakusaiga again...and nothing happened.

Natsumi's laughter rang through the air. "Now you don't have a weapon to use! My sword here absorbed your sword's power! Now you can only fight me with your native abilities!"

Sesshomaru glared at Natsumi. Being the proud demon lord that he is, Sesshomaru took this challenge graciously. If Natsumi wanted him to fight with just is natural abilities, then he was going to fight with just his natural abilities.

He zipped towards Natsumi, claws bared in front, poison illuminating them with a soft green glow. The claws swiped down on Natsumi...and landed on nothing but air. Natsumi was gone again.

The next thing Sesshomaru knew, a black blur had slammed against his side, knocking him at least a good ten feet away from where he was before. His side burned like crazy.

"My poison is much stronger than yours," Natsumi said smoothly.

Sesshomaru glanced at the open skin on his side and saw that it was all purple and red. He glared at Natsumi, his pride being smashed. Natsumi was beating him. Without a decent weapon like Bakusaiga, it was hard to fight.

Sesshomaru barely saw another black blur headed towards him. He ducked and it managed to singe his back, making it burn like his side.

He slowly bent up from his kneeling position, his wounds aching and burning.

Natsumi smirked and whispered a spell onto his black sword. When he swung it, a dozen black blurs swirled and surrounded Sesshomaru, coming at him from all sides.

Sesshomaru saw this coming and tried to jump for escape, but a blur was coming at him from above too!

The black blurs slammed onto the demon lord all at once. Sesshomaru let out a slight anguished cry as his body was battered by the spell, and the poison burned his skin.

When the spell disappeared, Sesshomaru staggered on this feet and sank to his knees. His gasped for breath and fumed. His pride was totally crushed now, seeing as he was brought to his knees.

Natsumi shot ANOTHER bunch of black blurs as Sesshomaru, and Sesshomaru just kneeled there and braced himself. As the blurs slammed against his already-battered body, Sesshomaru spat out blood.

He shakily put a hand up to wipe off the dark red liquid dripping out of his mouth.

"I wonder which one of these hit will do you in," Natsumi cackled. He raised his sword in the air, and a black wispy like thing started to swirl around it.

A dark black blur, darker than any of the others, shot toward Sesshomaru at near light speed.

His eyes widened as the blur slammed into his stomach...and went right through it. The blast shot right through the body of the demon lord, creating a hole in his stomach that gushed blood profusely.

This time Sesshomaru couldn't stop from falling on the ground. Natsumi chuckled as he watched the dog demon try to prop himself up with his elbows and cough up blood.

"Well this is very entertaining," Natsumi laughed, looking down on Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was blood. This only made Natsumi grin more.

Sesshomaru groaned and collapsed further on the ground.

**OoOoOoOoOoOo**

Inuyasha, freshly wrapped in bandages, sniffed the air, his eyes narrowing in worry.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. After they had run away from Natsumi, they had made shelter in a clearing.

"Blood...lots of blood...Sesshomaru's blood..." Inuyasha paused as Kagome and the others gasped.

"That IDIOT went ahead and fought that Natsumi guy, even when we warned him not to!" Inuyasha bellowed.

"We have to go help him," Miroku insisted. Sango nodded in agreement. Kagome went to fetch her bow and arrow.

"No, you guys aren't coming," Inuyasha said gruffly. "It's too dangerous. I'll go alone."

"But Inuyasha...!" Kagome began. Inuyasha cut her off.

"You'd just get in my way," he snapped. Then he was disappeared, following the scent of blood that would lead him to his injured brother.

**Sesshyfan123: Yay! this is my first inu fanfic, and I'm really excited about it. Srry for making Sesshy hurt so badly. =D Anyways PLSPSPLSPLSPLSPLS PLEEEAAAAASE review, i need some motivation for my first story! **


	2. Help Comes

**Bleeding Crescent Moon **

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha…

Chapter 2: Help Comes

Inuyasha flew through the trees faster than he had ever before, even with his wounds. He smelt Sesshomaru's blood, and although the two brothers had tried to kill each other many times, Inuyasha had to admit that he was scared for Sesshomaru. He saw blurs of brown and green whiz past him. That's how fast he was going past the trees and dense wood.

"Sesshomaru can't get hurt...he's supposed to be invincible..." Inuyasha thought, trying to reassure himself. The smell of Sesshomaru's blood contradicted his thoughts.

His surroundings started to get more familiar, and Inuyasha recognized the place of his most recent battle. The smell of blood was thick in the air, and he barely caught the scent of Natsumi.

He jumped up to a high tree and looked down at the sight in front of him.

Inuyasha gasped.

He saw Sesshomaru lying on the ground, a pool of blood rapidly forming beneath him. Sesshomaru had a gaping hole in his abdomen, and his shirt was torn on one side, showing the bruised and bloody skin of the demon lord. Inuyasha saw some red on Sesshomaru's mouth, and realized that streaks of crimson were running down his chin. Sesshomaru's eyes were slightly cracked open, but they weren't completely focused. Inuyasha saw the magenta stripes on Sesshomaru's cheeks start to grow larger and more jagged, signalling his giant dog transformation.

Inuyasha stayed hidden in the trees, not knowing whether to wait or to help his brother. Sesshomaru didn't seem to catch his scent, which showed that he must be very wounded.

Natsumi took a step towards Sesshomaru and stomped on his head. Blood started to form on his white hair. Sesshomaru groaned a bit, and tried to prop himself up with his elbows. Natsumi smirked and applied more pressure on the dog demon's head, shoving it to the ground.

Inuyasha's heart raced. Sesshomaru needed help, and although it was going to crush his pride to receive help from a half-demon and enemy, Inuyasha knew that Sesshomaru could possibly get killed if he didn't step in. The sound of Sesshomaru groaning brought Inuyasha's eyes closer into the scene.

Natsumi had pulled his leg back...and jammed his foot into Sesshomaru's ribs! Sesshomaru literally heard his ribs shatter as another wave of blood flooded his throat and made its way out of his mouth.

While Sesshomaru was gagging out blood, Natsumi took a few steps back and pointed his sword at the sky. A bolt of lightning struck the sword and a sizzling field of electricity blazed around the black blade.

"It's over for you," Natsumi said quietly.

He swung the sword down and a black lightning bolt started to soar towards Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru knew he had to move...he knew that a very powerful attack was coming...he knew that he might get killed if he took it with his body...but...his limbs felt like lead. He could barely lift a finger. His head turned slowly to face the attack flying at full throttle towards him...

"Well...I guess this is it..." Sesshomaru thought to himself. "The end of the dog demon lord of the Western Lands..." Sesshomaru closed his eyes, unconsciousness slowly setting in.

He waited...and waited...but the attack never came.

"Feh! I thought you were way stronger than that, Sesshomaru!" a voice he never expected to hear made Sesshomaru force his eyes open just a crack.

As he struggled to focus his vision, he saw a hanyou wearing a fire rat robe standing in front of him. Tetsaiga was in his hand, and he had released a Backlash Wave to counter the attack.

Apparently, the Backlash Wave wasn't enough, and Inuyasha saw that the attack was about to come again. He quickly leaped over to Sesshomaru's side.

"Hey, what are you...!" Sesshomaru was taken by surprise and pain when his half-brother hoisted him up onto his shoulder.

Inuyasha leaped out of the way of the attack, and just focused to leaping behind a tree.

"Idiot," Inuyasha muttered. "I warned you not to fight this guy, and look what you do. You fight him!"

"Isn't that what YOU would do?" Sesshomaru shifted and winced in pain as he coughed up a little more blood.

Inuyasha pondered his brother's words. Yes, Sesshomaru was right. Even when warned, he would still fight someone. They were much more alike than they thought.

"Will you stop being cowards and come out and fight?" Natsumi's annoyed voice cut through their thoughts.

"Sesshomaru, I know this is going to upset you, but we know none of us can defeat him...yet," Inuyasha explained. "We should wait a little bit, and then fight some time later, when we're all healed."

"So you think me too weak to continue," Sesshomaru said, trying to get up. He managed to somewhat stand, his legs shaking violently and blood gushing out of his wounds. "You...d-don't have...to...worry about m-me..." Sesshomaru fell forward.

Inuyasha was expecting it and was there to catch his brother.

"I-I'm fine..." Sesshomaru passed out right after he said that.

Inuyasha sighed at his brother's relentless desire not to give up. He stepped forward and pulled Sesshomaru onto his back. Sesshomaru winced in pain at this process, worrying Inuyasha even more. Normally, if Sesshomaru wasn't so wounded, nasty insults and comments would be flying out of the hanyou's mouth. But for some strange reason, he didn't want to stress Sesshomaru out, so he just kept quiet. Inuyasha was shocked at how warm his brother's body felt. Sesshomaru was having a fever. Now they REALLY had to get back to camp fast.

"Let's go," he mumbled, and started leaping up into the trees.

"HEY COME BACK!" Natsumi shouted. But Inuyasha was already way ahead, making sure to get him and his brother to safety.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

"Wha...?" Kagome's voice echoed through the forest.

"Shhh..." Sango warned. "We don't want that Natsumi guy finding us.

Kagome, as well as the rest of the group, were in shock as they saw SESSHOMARU being CARRIED by INUYASHA.

"Wow...he really wanted to keep fighting that Natsumi guy, didn't he," Miroku's eyes were wide.

"He's a total idiot," Inuyasha mumbled. He didn't want anyone to know he really cared for Sesshomaru. He wanted to confirm it by dropping the guy, but he figured that wouldn't help at all.

Inuyasha gently lay his brother down on the grass-covered ground.

Kagome was already ready with her first-aid kit. "Alright, let's get to work everyone!" she took charge. "Miroku, go fetch some clean water to clean his wounds. Inuyasha, look for any signs of his condition getting worse. Sango, come help me with these bandages."

"Y-yes Kagome," everyone said that the same time, dashing to get their job done.

When Miroku came back with the water, Kagome took a peice of cloth and dipped it in.

Sesshomaru cringed when the coldness touched his fevered body.

Kagome gasped at the demon's sudden movement, waited a little bit, and then went back to cleaning his wounds.

Sesshomaru's eyes opened very slightly, revealing amber orbs. He saw the people gathered around him looking down at him with sympathy. He hated it. He had let everyone see that he could be weak.

"R-Rin...?" he murmured through fever.

Then a wave of exaustion and pain washed over him, and he closed his eyes.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

**Well, please review everyone! I want to know what i'm doing well or how i can improve. =D **

**luv, Sesshyfan123**


	3. Some Recovery

**Bleeding Crescent Moon**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha…

**btw, there's gonna be some brother bonding time in this!**

Chapter 3: Some Recovery

"There they are!" Inuyasha cried out, pointing past some trees and to a clearing.

Miroku whirled in the directing Inuyasha pointed to. There in the clearing, sat a little girl wearing a reddish-orange kimono and a little green imp with a staff nearly three times as tall as he is. The imp was grumbling about something, and the little girl sat with her head on her knees. She had bags under her eyes, proving that she hadn't slept for a while.

The moment the little girl caught sight of Inuyasha, her face lit up and she shouted with joy, "Lord Inuyasha!" then she paused. "Where's Lord Sesshomaru?"

Inuyasha waited a little bit, pondering what he was going to say.

"You should come with us and see," Miroku said casually.

The little girl, whose name was Rin nodded, smiling. She thought her lord would be perfectly fine.

"You know where Lord Sesshomaru is?" Jaken, the toad, asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

The stupid look of the little imp caused him to get a fist slamming down on his tiny skull.

"YES, I know where Sesshomaru is!" Inuyasha grumbled in annoyance. "Now will you just follow me?"

After Jaken managed to clear his vision of stars, he scrambled up and ran after the group that was leaving him behind.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Sesshomaru's head felt like it was cracked like a coconut (which it probably was). His abdomen burned and ached where the bolt from Natsumi when right through. His limbs felt like they were lead. To top it off, every inch of his body throbbed with pain, and breathing hurt...a lot.

Sesshomaru actually didn't want to wake up. Waking up would just be painful. The only thing stopping him from staying in his new black dimension was...

Rin.

Consciousness slowly leaked into the demon lord.

Then he suddenly felt something cold and wet being applied to his forehead. A wave of strange smells made its way to Sesshomaru's nose, making it crinkle. "This must be the miko's medicine," he vaguely thought.

Then another scent came...it was the scent of Inuyasha's fire rat robe. Sesshomaru forced his eyes to open just a crack. He realized that he was lying on the ground, and it was morning...no...it was probably late in the afternoon. He felt the robe of the fire rat on his body and knew that Inuyasha had lent him his robe. The world spun around him. Sesshomaru felt dizzy and he hadn't even moved yet. He realized that whoever was around him didn't know he was conscious yet because his eyes didn't look like they were open.

"Is Lord Sesshomaru okay?" an all too familiar voice came to his ears. Rin!

Rin dashed into the room just in time to see Kagome finish applying a wet cloth to Sesshomaru's face.

"LORD SESSHOMARU!" Rin squealed, and started to dash forward. Sesshomaru was actually scared for a moment. Luckily, Inuyasha held the little girl back, or else she would've jumped on Sesshomaru and possibly killed him. =P

"Are you well my lord?" Rin asked after being warned by Inuyasha not to jump on Sesshomaru.

"Does he LOOK well?" Inuyasha answered for Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru realized that he had closed his eyes, and forced them back open.

Then Jaken came dashing into the room, screaming "Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru!"

"Great..." Sesshomaru murmured in his mind.

"Are you well my lord?" Jaken inquired.

"Do I LOOK well?" Sesshomaru managed to choke out. His voice was raspy and weak. He hated sounding like that.

Kagome walked away from Sesshomaru's side and hurried Rin and Jaken out. "Sesshomaru needs to rest," she said.

"Who are YOU to know what our lord needs!" Jaken screamed. Inuyasha thumped him on the head. After the two little "children" were on the other side of the clearing, Inuyasha was alone with his brother.

Sesshomaru stared at Inuyasha, not knowing what to expect. He felt like falling asleep again, but he didn't want to show weakness. He already had so many times already.

"So...how are you doing?" Inuyasha said casually.

"Fine..." Sesshomaru replied, narrowing his eyes. He also hated lying down, but it wasn't like he could get up.

"Keh, you WOULD say that," Inuyasha smirked.

Sesshomaru tried to do his best superior glare at Inuyasha, but it wasn't easy when you're covered in bandages and lying on the ground.

Sesshomaru's attempt made Inuyasha smirk even more.

"I AM fine..." Sesshomaru snapped.

"Yeah, you said that yesterday and passed out right after!" Inuyasha doubled over laughing. The others looked over at their side of the clearing, curious. Sesshomaru actually felt himself go red. This was totally not going well. The argument was actually making him throb more. Sesshomaru cursed in his head.

Inuyasha wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Alright, alright, I'll drop it," he grinned widely. He sighed. If he was in Sesshomaru's position, HE'D probably insist he was fine when he wasn't, too.

Sesshomaru sighed. He felt exhausted, and he hadn't even done anything yet. If Naraku were to strike right now...

Well, that would be bad. Inuyasha was almost all healed, since his wounds weren't that deep. But as for Sesshomaru...

"Lunch time!" Kagome's voice rang through the air.

"OOOOOH! Ramen!" Inuyasha licked his lips and bounded toward Kagome.

"Sesshomaru, would you like something?" Kagome asked.

"I don't eat human food," he muttered.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Little did everyone know...that far away, at a dark castle, they were being watched...

"It seems you have failed to kill the brothers," Naraku's voice echoed through the halls.

"They ran away like cowards," Natsumi protested.

"Sesshomaru...ran away?" Naraku stopped in his tracks, and a smirk pulled on the corners of his mouth.

"Well, his brother carried him away," Natsumi shrugged.

"Carried?" Naraku smirked wider.

"He was unconscious," Natsumi looked at Naraku. "Why?"

"Oh...nothing," Naraku chuckled deeply. "This is good...very good..."

Natsumi cocked an eyebrow. He had no idea why Naraku was so pleased.

"It seems you've done pretty well," Naraku addressed Natsumi. "You did a number on the inu brothers. Sesshomaru seems to be very wounded and Inuyasha is not quite healed yet. This could be my chance to absorb them and take their powers."

"Well...whatever," Natsumi yawned, bored. "What's your next move?"

"Well, I will just attack as soon as possible, leaving them with very little time to heal. Natsumi, I applaud you."

"Ehh...sure," Natsumi shrugged like it was nothing. They reached a fork in the hallway and Natsumi walked to the opposite passage Naraku was going, leaving him.

Naraku stood there smirking widely. "Natsumi...after you're done helping me, I will have to steal your powers too..."

A dark and deep chuckling echoed through the black halls.


	4. Another Attack

**Bleeding Crescent Moon **

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha…

**I'm getting these chapters up preeeeeetttttyyy fast, aren't I? =D  
**

Chapter 4: Another Attack

"Sesshomaru, stay still!" Kagome scolded. She was trying to give him medicine and change his bandages, but he wouldn't let her. She was literally sitting on top of him, but even in his weakened state he could still push her off easily. This had been going on for some time.

"I don't need HUMAN medicine," Sesshomaru growled, emphasizing "HUMAN". He shoved Kagome off...again.

"Ooooooooh..." Kagome muttered angrily. "I SOOOOOO wish I could "sit" him like I do with Inuyasha!" she hissed.

Inuyasha watched them from a tree slightly amused. He knew Sesshomaru had lost a lot of pride in the past day or so, and he didn't want to "sink any lower by having a human treat him."

Actually, Sesshomaru was throbbing. Every time he pushed the miko off, it took basically all his strength. But he could heal on his own. He didn't need some human to help him.

After Kagome had given up, Sesshomaru let out and inaudible sigh and lay back down on the bed that had been made for him. Being a demon, he healed incredibly fast, and now he was able to move a little bit...but fighting was out of the question. He could hardly sit up, let alone stand.

"NARAKU'S COMING!" Inuyasha suddenly shouted.

Everyone perked up.

"Ah-Un, take Rin and Jaken to safety. Kirara, protect Shippo and Sesshomaru," Sango shouted. Kirara transformed into the giant cat that she was a growled in agreement.

_"What? Protect ME?" _Sesshomaru thought angrily. _"I can protect myself!" _

After Jaken and Rin and flown away on Ah-Un, a black wispy tornado sailed through the trees, and swarm of saimyosho swirling around it.

Inuyasha pulled out his Tetsaiga, Kagome notched her arrow, and Miroku and Sango readied their weapons.

Suddenly, the tornado disappeared.

"Wha...?" Inuyasha blurted out. They all whirled around, looking for Naraku.

"I'm over here!" his voice came from way behind them...where Sesshomaru was.

The black tornado had appeared right behind Sesshomaru, and before he could react, giant fleshy tentacles shot out. His eyes widened as they slammed into his stomach and he went flying against a tree. Sesshomaru sagged down, a trail of crimson running down his mouth, and the bandages around his stomach started to redden. The tentacles had hit him hard in the stomach, where Natsumi's attack had impaled him. It wasn't totally healed yet, and Naraku had just made his condition worse.

Sesshomaru was coursing with pain, and he didn't even attempt the stand up from his sitting position against the tree.

Naraku cackled. It was amusing seeing Sesshomaru in this state. He shot three more tentacles at Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru painfully raised up his head to see the attack coming at him. He couldn't make a move to stop it.

"WIND SCAR!" a golden blaze filled Sesshomaru's vision and he saw Naraku's tentacles being blown to pieces. Inuyasha stood in front of Sesshomaru, protecting his bleeding brother, Tetsaiga bore in front of him.

Naraku scowled. His plan was to beat Sesshomaru up a bit, then absorb his demonic power. He was supposed to do the same with Inuyasha. He thought Inuyasha was more wounded, but as it turned out, he was completely healthy.

"No matter," Naraku thought. "Sesshomaru is still in the worse condition I've ever seen him in. I can still take advantage of that." Naraku's tentacles shot AROUND either side of Inuyasha.

"Wha...?" Inuyasha shouted, and destroyed the tentacles on one side. He was about to barely make it in time to save Sesshomaru when a roar filled his ears. Kirara leaped and bit down on the tentacles, destroying them.

"Nice Kirara," Inuyasha sighed in relief.

"Hm...I have to get rid of the cat," Naraku said calmly. He released miasma and Kirara hissed in pain and reverted back to her normal kitten form.

"It's over for you, Naraku!" Kagome's voice rang through the air. She was released a sacred arrow at Naraku. It sliced through his tentacles, and slammed into the barrier at the end. Naraku held the barrier strong, and Kagome's arrow disappeared, useless.

"That miko is also annoying," Naraku scowled. He shot a dozen giant tentacles at her. Inuyasha growled and leaped forward, slicing the tentacles with the Tetsaiga. But there were too many tentacles, and before he could reach Kagome, a tentacle as slammed into her, sending her flying into Sango. The two girls smashed into a tree, hard, and went down unconscious.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha screamed. He glared at Naraku, filling his eyes with as much hatred as possible, which wasn't that hard.

Miroku was pretty much useless. He couldn't use his wind tunnel because of all the saimyosho. But he went over and stood in front of Sesshomaru, protecting him.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru was fuming. He totally despised how everyone was trying to protect him. It was embarrassing to be the Great Demon Lord of the Western Lands one day, looking superior, and then the NEXT day, being beaten and covered in bloody bandages with a bunch of humans protecting you.

Sesshomaru knew that for once, he was being a burden to the others. He looked down at his waist and saw the he still had Bakusaiga. However, that sword had been rendered useless ever since Natsumi absorbed its power. Until Natsumi was destroyed, Bakusaiga was of no use.

He looked up angrily at the monk standing in front of him. He tried to put as much superiority into his eyes as possible and said "Monk."

Miroku turned around.

"I don't need protecting," Sesshomaru glared. Miroku nodded and turned back to Naraku, staying in the same spot. Sesshomaru growled.

Naraku released another cloud of miasma, and the monk shielded his eyes and mouth, coughing. Inuyasha was doing the same thing. The miasma didn't affect Sesshomaru, so he was wondering why Naraku was doing it...unless.

"Now Sesshomaru is completely unguarded!" Naraku laughed. He shot jagged appendages at the demon lord. Sesshomaru's eyes widened in pain and shock as the sharp appendages impaled him and blood splattered on the ground.

"SESSHOMARU!" Inuyasha shouted before he could stop himself.

Sesshomaru mustered all his strength to raise a shaky hand to pull the appendages out. Then he couldn't believe he was doing his, but he was actually struggling to stand up. He managed to grab onto a low branch on the tree for support and shakily got onto his legs, the world spinning and his blood gushing everywhere.

Then he charged towards Naraku.

This completely took Naraku by surprise. He didn't think Sesshomaru would have the strength to stand up, let alone leap at him.

Sesshomaru's claws were bared in front, and with one swift swipe, he had cut Naraku's body clean in half. Naraku's eyes were wide in shock. Inuyasha took advantage of this and yelled "WIND SCAR! WIND SCAR! WIND SCAR!"

The tree Wind Scars slammed into Naraku's body, breaking it apart each time.

"Why...you...!" Naraku sputtered.

"Heh...!" Inuyasha smirked in triumph.

Naraku scowled, then put a barrier around himself. "It seems I have to retreat this time..." Naraku thought to himself. "I can't believe it...Sesshomaru was hurt and they still defeated me. Well...it just took me by surprise..."

"I'm surprised you're that resilient, Sesshomaru," Naraku said smoothly. "You surprised me. Till next time..."

"Wait...wha..? Where do you think you're going?" Inuyasha shouted as Naraku turned into a wispy tornado. The tornado disappeared.

"C-coward..." Sesshomaru muttered. Then he fell to the grass-covered ground, unconscious.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

**Okay, I promise I'll make Sesshomaru less weak in the next few chapters, k? Anyways, please review. Tell me what you think. **

**Luv, Sesshyfan123  
**


	5. A Little Bit of the Past

**Bleeding Crescent Moon **

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha

**Hey if anyone wants to tell me what they would like me to add in the story, feel free! to tell you the truth, I'm kinda running out of ideas O.O By the way...in this chappy, you get to see a different side of Sesshomaru...  
**

Chapter 5: A Little Bit of the Past 

Kirara was curled up in a ball, still unconscious from her intake of miasma, and Kagome and Sango just had a bump on their head from running into each other and then crashing into the tree. Jaken and Rin had come back on their own after a while, and freaked out after they saw how Sesshomaru looked.

Inuyasha and Miroku tended to Sesshomaru while Jaken paced nervously around and Rin leaned against a tree with her head on her knees in worry.

"Mmmm...what happened?" Kagome and Sango murmured groggily, sitting up and rubbing their heads. "Wha...! Where's Naraku?" they panicked, looking all around.

"Don't worry, Sesshomaru and I drove him off," Inuyasha explained.

"You and...Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, not sure if she heard correctly.

"Yeah, for some strange reason that idiot managed to stand up and recklessly charge at Naraku," Inuyasha scoffed.

"Sounds like someone else we know," Sango muttered and Inuyasha cast a scowl at her.

Kagome looked over to see Sesshomaru lying beside a tree. He had a cloth draped over his forehead and his bandages were slightly red. His face was scrunched in pain.

Kagome crept closer and put the back of her hand to his cheek. His skin was burning with fever. She quickly scampered away to get some fever medicine.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Sesshomaru was having a dream...the dream resurfaced some memories that he had forgotten...or had tried hard to forget...

_When Sesshomaru was still a young child, he loved to play in the gardens at his home. He loved to inhale the sweet scent of the flowers and sleep by the fountain. The sound of rushing water somehow soothed him to sleep. He enjoyed the beautiful scenery and spent most of his time outside.  
_

_This is last for long. _

_When his father died, it was perhaps the most difficult time for the young dog demon. He was now legally Lord of the Western Lands. However, many demons did not think it was right for such a young person to be lord. Sesshomaru was shunned and criticized. Many powerful demons would come and suddenly attack him, as if testing to see if he was powerful enough to rule and protect the lands. The demons that challenged Sesshomaru were much older, stronger, and had been in far more battles than the young dog lord._

_However, Sesshomaru somehow managed to defeat all that challenged him. These duels hardened the boy. He became used to fighting. Now all demons had to fight a lot, but Sesshomaru was under the pressure to be alert every thing second of every minute of his life. If you're immortal, that's a long time. He was under the stress of proving himself, and soon, he got used to killing mercilessly, day after day. That's how many people challenged him. _

_One day, one of the most powerful demons in the western lands came up to Sesshomaru. The majority of the demons in the west had actually decided that he should be Lord of the Western Lands, not Sesshomaru. _

_Thousands of demons gathered that day to see the elder demon and the young one duel. The elder one was very powerful and had a sword that could absorb demonic energy. Sesshomaru was nearly beaten, but his stealth and resilience allowed him to be the victor. _

_This wasn't without a toll, however. _

_Sesshomaru limped away from the now defeated and dead elderly demon. The crowd booed him. No one was on his side. Some demons even tried to attack him as he was staggering away, a thick trail of blood behind him. _

_Luckily, all demons who challenged Sesshomaru knew that it wasn't honorable to attack someone while they were wounded or unable to fight. _

_Sesshomaru walked away with as much pride as possible, limping and gushing blood. When he got a good distance away from the dispersing crowd, he collapsed under a tree. His blood was making a crimson puddle beneath him. _

_Sesshomaru was gasping for breath and clutching his right arm, which was ripped open from his shoulder to his wrist. Ouch. He could see a glimmer of bone through the blood. He had a gash from his left shoulder to his stomach, and blood slid down the side of his face from the cuts and wounds there._

_"Damn..." Sesshomaru silently cursed. He shakily moved his better hand to Tensaiga's sheathe. "Why did I inherit this..." he thought angrily. "This sword is useless...it doesn't help protect you...or help you survive..."_

_Sesshomaru was sick of all demons insulting him and doubting whether he could be the ruler or not. He was angry that his father didn't give him anything that would help him with these problems. He have the Tetsaiga to Inuyasha, who was an infant! He lived in a castle with lady Izayoi, a mother who actually cared for him..._

_Sesshomaru's mother didn't really care for him. She trained him to be cold, emotionless, and uncaring. She trained him to fight. Her training sessions were ridiculously hard, and Sesshomaru was beaten up every single time. The servants in his mother's castle just jeered at him. Sesshomaru left his mother's home as soon as he got the chance. _

_There he roamed the Western Lands, by himself. He was able to defeat anyone who crossed his path, and soon, the citizens of the west reluctantly accepted him as Lord of the West. _

_"So this is how it is to be a lord..." Sesshomaru thought coldly. "It means to be alone..."_

_When he ran into Rin, he just somehow felt connected to her. Was it because she attempted to save his life? Sesshomaru didn't know this, but it was because Rin reminded him of his younger self. The child who enjoyed the scent of pretty flowers and beautiful scenery. Rin was Sesshomaru's way of reconnecting with his old life...the life that he had almost completely forgotten._

**OoOoOoOoOo**

**Ok, I know this chapter was kind of pointless, but I just felt like giving you a piece of Sesshomaru's baby life. Not very "baby", is it? Anyways, for all of those who think I'm biased, well...I am. Srry. The next chapter will continue the story. **

**Now don't be afraid to send me your ideas for my story. I'm glad to see your requests. =D**

**Luv, Sesshyfan123 (you could tell by my name that i'm biased =P)  
**


	6. A Bit of Bonding

**Bleeding Crescent Moon**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha...

**sniff, i only got one review for the previous chapter. =( **

**oh wells, here's the next chappy, so enjoy! Bit of brotherly bonding here...  
**

Chapter 6: A Bit of Bonding 

Sesshomaru's eyelids felt like a hundred pounds. His eyes slowly creaked open, his vision blurry and unfocused. He made out some blurry images of bowls surrounding him, with the scent of remedies and tonics emitting from them. His body ached, and when he tried to move, pain shot through him, mainly in various areas of his chest and stomach. He saw a bleary figure sitting by the doorway...doorway? So they weren't in the forest anymore, but in some hut.

Sesshomaru blinked furiously for a few seconds, trying to force his eyes to focus. When his vision was a little better, he tried to sit up, but with one arm it's kind of hard. As he elevated his upper body from the ground with his elbows, his drew shuddering, ragged breaths caused from pain. He bit back a groan and forced himself to sit up. His whole body pounded with fever and sweat slid down the side of his head. Sesshomaru painfully turned his head to look at the person in the doorway. He saw white hair, like his own, and two dog ears.

"I-Inuyasha...?" He mumbled, wincing as he lay back down on his bedding.

Inuyasha turned around. "Sesshomaru! You're awake!" Sesshomaru sensed a bit of worry in the hanyou's voice, and saw it in his eyes, but Inuyasha's expression quickly changed to his usual cocky one. He walked toward the place where Sesshomaru was lying, pushed some of the bowls of medicine away, then plopped down. Sesshomaru would've started insulting his brother, but he was too exhausted to. Inuyasha wouldn't started insulting Sesshomaru too, but he felt sorry for him so cut off all the nasty comments.

"So...how are you doing?" Inuyasha gruffly said.

"...Fine..." Sesshomaru's voice was raspy and his throat felt sore and parched.

"Is that all you ever say?" Inuyasha sighed. "By the way...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

Sesshomaru only looked back at him, slightly confused.

"Why did you decide to attack Naraku? You were badly hurt, and straining your body only made it worse!" Inuyasha snapped.

"I helped drive him away, didn't I?" Sesshomaru choked out.

"Yes, but that was because you took him by surprise..." Inuyasha thought about it for a moment. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea that Sesshomaru suddenly lashed out at Naraku. Still, the strain was great on his body.

"Besides..." Sesshomaru hid a smirk. "When did you care?"

Inuyasha growled. "I never did! I...I just can't allow Naraku to absorb your power, because he'll become very powerful and he's already enough to deal with right now!"

Inuyasha sighed. He went over to the table and grabbed a cup. Then he filled it with water from a bucket.

"Here, have some water," Inuyasha said firmly. "You've hardly had anything to drink since the past two days."

Sesshomaru nearly fainted from shock. He was out for that long? Sesshomaru slowly took the cup from Inuyasha, dazed from pain and shock. Much to his surprise, Inuyasha kneeled down and helped Sesshomaru sit up so he could drink the water. When Sesshomaru sat up, the world spun ten times faster and dizziness flooded his head. He cringed a bit and closed his eyes to force out the headache.

"Hey...you okay?" Inuyasha inquired.

Sesshomaru nodded slightly, but even that made his headache worse.

Inuyasha put the edge of the cup to Sesshomaru's lips, and he took a sip. The water felt good on his lips, in his mouth, and in a little bit of his throat, but suddenly his body repulsed and he spit and coughed out all the water onto Inuyasha.

"Ahh...!" Inuyasha jerked back, surprised.

"...Sorry..." Sesshomaru said, lamely. He wiped his mouth.

"Again," Inuyasha pushed on, and forced Sesshomaru to take another sip. This time, he didn't cough it back up. The water soothed his dry and parched throat and helped refresh him a bit. Inuyasha refilled the cup twice and Sesshomaru drank it all down. Then he lay his brother back onto the bedding.

Sesshomaru didn't like lying down, so he tried to stay sitting up. As usual for the past few days, he failed.

"You need to rest," Inuyasha demanded. "Don't force yourself to do anything!" he shoved Sesshomaru down onto the ground. "Sorry..." Inuyasha mumbled when Sesshomaru winced. Sesshomaru glared at him.

Inuyasha scowled back.

The two boys shot feeble insults at each other with their eyes.

"...You're probably wondering how Rin's doing," Inuyasha broke the short silence.

Sesshomaru perked up when he heard the little girl's name.

"She's fine," Inuyasha made a short but meaningful reply. "Jaken was too busy rambling on and on, so I beat him up. I hope that's okay with you."

"Do whatever you want to him," Sesshomaru smirked. There was a loud thump outside.

"What was that?" Inuyasha walked out the door. A few seconds later, he peeked back into the room. "Jaken's lying on the floor, unconscious. He probably passed out when you said you didn't care what happened to him!" Inuyasha burst out laughing.

Sesshomaru found that it was amusing at first, but then his inner smile was wiped away. If Jaken was eavesdropping, then he heard his whole conversation with Inuyasha. Sesshomaru didn't want to admit it, but he didn't hate Inuyasha so much anymore. He wasn't fond of him, but he didn't want to kill him or anything. If Jaken knew about this...

"Anyways," Inuyasha yawned sitting back down next to Sesshomaru. "Naraku's pride must be totally crushed when he was driven away by someone who was totally beat up...of course, it was just cause you took him by surprise. I'm not saying you're strong or anything!" Inuyasha made a pathetic attempt to cover up the fact that he admired his brother.

"I'm getting tired of lying around," Sesshomaru gruffly said, starting to try to get up.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Inuyasha waved his hand in front of him, trying to get him to stop.

Sesshomaru's pain had somewhat subsided when he was lying down. The moment he moved a muscle to try to get up, all that pain came rushing back. Sesshomaru kept pushing himself. He shakily edged to a kneeling position with his spinning head on one knee, drawing shuddering breaths.

Then he started to stand. He barely stood up straight and took a few staggering steps forward, yellow splotches clouding his vision, trying to get out the door. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to stop. His pride was stronger though.

He wasn't more than three yards from the doorway when he stumbled and the ground went up toward him.

Hands shot out to grab the demon lord before he crashed into the ground. Sesshomaru felt dizzy and kind of stupid.

"Idiot, Idiot, Idiot, IDIOT!" Inuyasha barked, dragging his brother back to the bedding.

"Quit your barking, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru weakly said.

Inuyasha sighed at his brother's surprising stupidity and pride.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

**Ok, end of chapter! To me, Sesshy seemed kinda outta' character, but oh well. Anyways, pls pls pls review! I luv to hear from u guys! I can't promise the next chapter will be up as fast as all the others have been. I'm reaching a writer's block =(**

**anyways, luv, Sesshyfan123  
**


	7. Kidnapping

**Bleeding Crescent Moon**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha...

**Ooooooook, here's a little note. In this story, i stated that Sesshomaru has only one arm...well, he's supposed to have two, since he got Bakusaiga =P hehehehehe, my bad. Anyways, sorry for the confusion. I wanna thank XienRue for reminding me =D So from now on, Sesshy has two arms.  
**

**Enjoy the chappie  
**

Chapter 7: Kidnapping

Naraku was plotting.

_"I could always attack them again, and be prepared this time if Sesshomaru surprise attacks me..." _he thought. Then a twisted smirk made it's way onto his face. _"I know! Natsumi can take everyone out for me, then...I'll absorb his powers..." _

It was totally like Naraku to get someone else to do the dirty work for him.

Naraku summoned Natsumi.

"Yes, Master?" Natsumi walked into the room.

"I need you to launch another attack at the inu brothers and their little group..." Naraku was hit by another idea. His smirk grew across his face. "I have a great idea..." he cooed. "Natsumi...come closer...I'm going to tell you the plan..."

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Sesshomaru's nose picked up a nasty scent.

"I sense something coming this way," Sango announced. "It's coming fast!"

"I sense it too!" Miroku and Kagome said at the same time.

"No...not him again..." Inuyasha growled.

A black blur lurched through the trees, blowing them back.

"EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Inuyasha yelled. He grabbed Kagome and Shippo as Miroku and Sango hopped onto Kirara and Jaken dragged Rin away from the range of the attack.

The black blur smashed into the ground where everyone used to be.

Natsumi appeared out of no where.

"YOU again!" Inuyasha growled.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight," Natsumi said smoothly.

"Psst...Inuyasha," Kagome whispered in his ear. "We can't let him know where Sesshomaru is. He'll hurt him."

"Yeah, I know," Inuyasha whispered back. Sesshomaru was safe and hidden in the hut...as long as Natsumi didn't know where he was.

"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha screamed. Natsumi released a black shield that totally deflected the Wind Scar.

"I said I'm not here to fight," Natsumi sighed. "I just need something from you," he smirked.

"And what would that be?" Inuyasha snarled.

"...Her!" Natsumi zipped towards...Rin.

"Oh no you don't!" Jaken screeched. _"Lord Sesshomaru will kill me if anything happens to Rin!"_ he thought fearfully. He jumped in front of Rin and blew a cloud of fire from the staff of two heads. He aimed where he thought Natsumi would be.

"Missed."

Jaken's blood froze when he heard the voice from behind him. Then he heard Rin's shriek.

"HEEEEEEELLLLP!" Rin cried.

"RIN!" Jaken yelled, turning around.

Natsumi was holding Rin firmly, raising her up in the air.

"I have no idea what Naraku wants with you, but my orders were to capture you," Natsumi said casually, examining Rin.

"Let her go!" Inuyasha shouted, pointing the Tetsaiga at Natsumi.

"I wouldn't cast an attack if I were you," Natsumi cautioned. He put put Rin right in front of him. "If you attack me, you're also attacking this little girl," he said, smirking. "I don't really see why Naraku wants her, but his wish is my command. Now goodbye."

Natsumi turned around and leaped high into the air.

"COME BACK HERE!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Let's go after him!" Miroku and Sango went after Natsumi on Kirara. Kagome and Shippo rode on Inuyasha.

"Miroku, Kagome, Jaken, and Shippo. Stay back and watch after Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said quickly.

It wasn't hard to track Natsumi. The sky was blue and Natsumi was wearing pitch black. Inuyasha made huge, bounding leaps, not letting Natsumi out of his sight.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Natsumi entered the black castle, sensing Inuyasha's group close behind him. He gripped the whimpering girl tightly and dragged her through the hallways.

"W-what do you want with me...?" Rin said shakily.

"You'll find out," Natsumi said flatly. "And it's not what I want with you, it's what NARAKU wants with you."

Rin tried to pull away from Natsumi, but he had an iron grip.

"Good job, Natsumi," a deep voice reverberated off the walls. Naraku appeared out of the darkness.

"Don't worry, Rin..." Naraku said, smirking at Rin, who was shrinking back. "I won't hurt you...at least that's not my plan..." then he turned to look at Natsumi. "Natsumi, take her to her room."

"Let's go," Natsumi pulled Rin away. Rin did her best to glare at Naraku, which only made him smirk even wider.

_"Rin will lead Inuyasha and his group into my castle...once they're all inside, I will put up my barrier...then no one can come in...and they can't come out..." _

A dark and sinister chuckle echoed through the dark hallways.

**OoOoOoOoOo**_  
_

**I know this chapter was kinda short, but as you all know, I have a writer's block. This chapter was hard to get through...=(**

**I give credit to Weird Girl 13, who gave me the idea to get Rin kidnapped. =D by the way, i have a GREAT idea for a new story, so just keep an eye out. I might have it posted before i finish THIS story.**

**Luv, Sesshyfan123  
**


	8. At a Disadvantage

**Bleeding Crescent Moon **

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha...

Chapter 8: At a Disadvantage

Sesshomaru heard the commotion while lying on the bedding inside of the hut. He caught the scent of Natsumi, but he couldn't help the other fight him. His blood turned into ice when he heard Rin's shriek. He knew that Natsumi had taken her hostage. Kagura had kidnapped Rin once before, and that was to lure Sesshomaru into Naraku's castle. But this time, Inuyasha went in and rescue Rin. Sesshomaru couldn't do anything.

Suddenly, an only too-familiar scent reached his sensitive nose. But wait...it couldn't be! Why would he be here?

NARAKU!

Sesshomaru stiffened when he realized that Naraku was right outside the hut. He heard some shouts from Kagome, Miroku, Shippo, and Jaken. It sounded like they were fighting Naraku out there. Then...it was all silent.

"What the hell is he doing here...?" Sesshomaru mentally cursed to himself. He pushed the blankets off of him and struggled to sit up. The dull pain came back immediately, making him gasp and wince. He rested the inside of his palms on his knees, gathering as much composure as possible. The world was a blur around him, and yellow splotches clouded his vision.

The door to the hut burst open, revealing the face of a smirking Naraku.

Sesshomaru straightened, wincing again at the process.

Naraku saw all the bandages that covered the demon lord's upper body and knew that he was still in a bad condition.

"Well well well," Naraku said calmly. "What a "surprise" to find you here, _lord _Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru looked past Naraku to see Kagome, Miroku, Jaken, and Shippo all unconscious. They had failed to hold back Naraku.

Sesshomaru put up his best glare. "And just what are you doing here, Naraku?"

"I would think that you'd be smart enough to figure it out, lord Sesshomaru," Naraku grinned. "I'm here to take your demonic powers, of course!"

Sesshomaru smirked. "You can try Naraku," he said. But deep down inside, he knew he was in trouble. He could hardly stand, for goodness sake! Fighting Naraku was going to be pushing it.

"If you want to fight, Sesshomaru, then let's do it!" Naraku smirked. His fleshy tentacles rose up in the air threateningly.

Sesshomaru stepped out of the hut with difficulty and got into his battle stance, getting prepared for any attack that might come.

"Are you sure you want to fight this fight, Sesshomaru?" Naraku taunted, knowing that Sesshomaru could hardly stand.

"I'm sure," Sesshomaru seethed. He could tell that Naraku was just teasing him. He pulled out Bakusaiga. Although Bakusaiga's powers had not returned yet, he could still use it as a weapon to help him defend against Naraku's attacks.

_"I think I'll play a game of Cat and Mouse with him first," _Naraku thought. _"Boy, is this going to be fun!" _

Sesshomaru shakily brought Bakusaiga in front of him.

"Ready?" Naraku called.

Sesshomaru scowled in response.

Giant, fleshy appendages shot towards Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru staggered away from getting hit by two of them, and slashed down with all his might on the last one. He barely looked up in time to see another batch of attacks flying at him. He cut one in half with Bakusaiga, turned around and cut another one in half. He barely dodged the third one, and it hit him on the side.

Sesshomaru was pushed back about five feet. Naraku retreated the appendages. Sesshomaru realized he was panting, hard. Sweat rolled down his face and pain pulsed through him. His knees were bent, trying to support his weight. He was straining himself too much.

"Is this too much for you, Sesshomaru?" Naraku jeered. "And I haven't even gotten started yet! Since when did you become so weak?"he released a tentacle at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru stumbled out of the way...

...only to run into another appendage. It smashed against his back, sending him smashing into the ground. Sesshomaru felt something warm fall down from the corner of his mouth. Blood.

He lifted his head up weakly and tried to focus his eyes on the enemy before him. His fingers clawed at the ground angrily. He pushed himself up with his palms, and got into a kneeling position, every inch of his body crying out in pain. He forced himself to stand up, holding Bakusaiga in a weak and relaxed grip. The sword nearly touched the ground.

"Still going to push yourself, huh?" Naraku sighed bored. Sesshomaru swayed a bit, then staggered to the right, trying to keep his balance. Naraku chuckled. He sent another attack at him.

Sesshomaru used all the strength he could muster to raise Bakusaiga and deflect the attacks. A tentacle slammed into his stomach and he momentarily gagged. The bandages on his stomach reddened as he fell forward.

Sesshomaru didn't move for a few seconds, panting and trying to endure the pain. Of course, everyone had limits. He painfully turned his head up to look at Naraku.

Naraku sneered at the panting lord on the ground and walked closer.

Sesshomaru tried to shoot daggers at Naraku with his eyes, but all that Naraku saw was pain and frustration. Naraku never thought, in his whole life, that he would be able to see Sesshomaru in this much pain. He walked until his foot was five inches from Sesshomaru's head.

Then with one swift movement, he pulled his foot back and kicked Sesshomaru in the head with all him might.

Sesshomaru never expected the blow. If he did, he didn't expect it to be this hard. Sesshomaru swore he heard his head crack. His eyes widened in shock and pain when Naraku kicked him. Blood spurted from his head like a fountain. Sesshomaru blinked furiously a few times to focus his vision and to keep from passing out. He looked up at Naraku again. He wasn't just seeing double vision...

_"...Why do I see twelve Naraku's...?" _Sesshomaru thought vaguely, blood spilling out of his mouth.

Naraku raised his foot up and stepped onto Sesshomaru's head.

"Aaaughh...!" he cried out, his eyes squeezing shut. Blood poured down the side of his head. Naraku raised his foot, and Sesshomaru actually sighed in relief.

Naraku took a step back and Sesshomaru turned and tried to get up. His head was spinning so much that he felt dizzy just lying there. There was no getting up for him now.

"You make this very entertaining, my lord," Naraku teased. He bent down and grabbed Sesshomaru's neck, pulling him up. The process made Sesshomaru spit up more blood. The blood went all over Naraku's arm.

"Disgusting dog filth," Sesshomaru barely heard Naraku say that. He was also vaguely aware that Bakusaiga slipped out of his hand. However, he was completely aware when Naraku struck him in the face.

_"Damn, his hits hurt like hell,"_ Sesshomaru groaned. He struggled to raise his arms and half-heartedly tried to pry Naraku's hands off of his throat.

Naraku chuckled loudly. "It's time to take your demoni powers, my lord."

**OoOoOoOoOo**

**Muahahahahahahhaaaa! I know you all hate me for making this cliffhanger, but hey! You all know I update fast! Anyways, please review!**

**luv, Sesshyfan123  
**


	9. Split Up

**Bleeding Crescent Moon**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha...

**Okay, so apparently, some people want Sesshomaru to get better, fast, and some people love watching him get beat up. Since I've been beating him up pretty much this whole story, I'll stop it, at least for now. **

**Also, some people say that Sesshomaru reminds them of their cat. May I ask how? =/  
**

Chapter 9: Split Up

"Naraku's barrier is right in front of us!" Inuyasha said, smirking. "This was easy!"

Inuyasha and Sango burst through Naraku's barrier.

"That was very easy to get through!" Sango pointed out. "Don't you think that's suspicious, Inuyasha?"

"That's not our concern right now!" he said quickly. "We have to save Rin!" The two ran towards the black castle that was slowly appearing since the barrier that was shielding it was diminished.

With one slice of Tetsaiga, the door to the castle was broken down. Sango and Inuyasha found themselves staring at an empty room. A cloud of miasma erupted and Sango pulled on her gas mask.

_"Damn that Naraku. This must be to mask Rin's scent!" Inuyasha angrily thought. _

Suddenly, a black blur struck Inuyasha from behind.

"What the...!" he shouted as he was sent flying across the room. Sango threw her Hiraikotsu in the direction that the blur came from. The boomerang didn't hit anything and was sent back to her.

"What was that?" Inuyasha barked, rubbing his sore back.

"Well, well, well," an unfortunately familiar voice rang through the room. Natsumi landed gracefully between Inuyasha and Sango. "What have we here? Trying to save your friend, eh?" he chuckled smoothly.

"What did you do to Rin?" Sango demanded. "Give her back!"

"Like I would do that!" Natsumi scoffed. "If you want to get to her, then you'll have to get through me!"

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Naraku tightened the grip on Sesshomaru's throat. Sesshomaru was beyond caring. He saw Naraku's tentacles steadily creep towards him, getting ready to absorb him demonic powers. The slimy, squishy appendages started to wrap around his legs, around his arms, and then around his waist.

_"This is it..." _he thought weakly. Then a voice shot through his mind. He wasn't sure if it he was getting delirious, if he was just imagining it, or if the voice really belonged to someone.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" the voice screamed. Sesshomaru saw a streak of bright pinkish light flash before his eyes. The tentacles that were wrapped around him fell off and onto the ground, writhing and twitching.

_"Whaaat...?" _Sesshomaru thought. He saw a smoking arrow embedded in a tree to his left. He looked to his right to see where the arrow came from.

Kagome was standing there with he bow raised. "Leave him alone!" she shouted, notching another arrow.

"Damn you!" Naraku spat, forcing some more tentacles to swirl around Sesshomaru. Another bright light filled Sesshomaru's vision and the tentacles were burned off. Sesshomaru fell to the ground.

"Kirara!" Kagome called. The giant demon cat lunged towards Sesshomaru and scooped him up.

"Take him somewhere safe!" Kagome said. Sesshomaru noticed the Shippo was also on Kirara, and he was still unconscious.

Sesshomaru's blood splattered all over Kirara, but she didn't seem to mind. He held onto her tightly as they sped up above the trees and far away from the hut that they were staying in before. Sesshomaru looked down and saw Kagome and Miroku battling the outraged Naraku.

_"I've gotten lucky again..."_ Sesshomaru thought. And his eyes closed.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Another black blur shot towards Inuyasha. He put his Tetsaiga in front of himself to protect himself. The blur was too strong, and Inuyasha was sent slamming against the walls...again.

_"Damn, this guy is too strong," _Inuyasha seethed. _"If Sesshomaru couldn't handle him, I won't have much luck either!" _

Sango saw Natsumi shoot another blur towards Inuyasha, who was struggling to get up from the ground. She threw her Hiraikotsu to block the attack. The giant boomerang thwarted the attack a little bit, so that it wouldn't hit Inuyasha. The blur slammed into the wall right next to him.

Inuyasha released a Wind Scar toward Natsumi.

_"Now's my chance!" _Natsumi thought. He held his black sword in front of him and the Wind Scar slammed into the blade. He held it strong. The yellow light from the Wind Scar gradually started to die down.

"This is the end of you!" Natsumi laughed.

"So what if you blocked one attack?" Inuyasha snapped. "Eat THIS! ADAMANT BARRAGE!" he brought his sword down...and nothing came out.

"Wh...WHAT?" Inuyasha was shocked. _"I can't believe I haven't thought about this before! Sesshomaru has a powerful sword, Bakusaiga. I haven't seen him use it ever since he got attacked by Natsumi! Maybe Natsumi took away the power of Bakusaiga too!" _

"You...bastard..." Inuyasha growled.

Natsumi replied with a smirk and released about a dozen black blurs toward Inuyasha. Just like Sesshomaru, he jumped up to try to avoid it. However, there were black blurs coming down too.

The attack slammed into Inuyasha on all sides. Inuyasha cried out in pain and sank to his knees on the ground.

"Inuyasha!" Sango shouted. She turned to Natsumi and threw the Hiraikotsu at him. He leaped out of the way without a sound.

Sango caught her boomerang with expertise and threw it at Natsumi again. Again, he dodged it.

"Persistent, aren't you?" He yawned.

Inuyasha noticed that the miasma had become thinner. He could try to sniff out Rin. _"I can't believe I'm saying this...but...we can't defeat Natsumi! We have to run away from him and try to get Rin out of here!" _

"Sango!" He shouted. He dashed to her.

"We can't defeat him," Sango said what Inuyasha was just about to tell her.

"Yeah, you're right," Inuyasha nodded. "Let's just try to find Rin and get out of here!"

Sango nodded.

"Let's go!" Sango leaped onto Inuyasha and they dashed toward a doorway.

"What the heck? Where are you going?" Natsumi said, surprised. "Cowards! Quit running away!"

Inuyasha didn't pay any attention to Natsumi. He tried to block out Natsumi's voice. Like Sesshomaru, Inuyasha hated running away from things. It just wasn't in his nature. But he knew that Rin's safety came first. Who knew if she could survive the miasma in this castle? Inuyasha had another thought. He had left Kagome, Miroku, and Kirara to protect Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru's group stayed back too. But then...

"Sango!" Inuyasha said suddenly.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Sango inquired.

"We didn't see Naraku. He only sent Natsumi to encounter us! What if he went by himself and attacked Sesshomaru and the others? Maybe this is why he had Natsumi kidnap Rin! It was to lure some of us to his castle, so he'll have an easier time killing of the others! He might even take Sesshomaru's demonic powers!"

Sango gasped as realization filled her.

"What should we do?" Inuyasha growled.

"Well, we can't leave Rin behind," Sango said worriedly. "We'll just have to try to find her really fast, and get back to camp as fast a possible."

"Alright," Inuyasha said, increasing his bounding leaps through the halls.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

**I know this chapter took a while to get posted. Unfortunately, I still have a little bit of a writer's block, but I kinda know what to do now =D **

**Anyways, please review. Your reviews really help encourage me. It helps me get these chapters up faster. Now I'm not the type of people who don't continue a story if no one reviews, but the review do help. I'm serious =D **

**Luv always, Sesshyfan123  
**


	10. Sort of Rescued

**Bleeding Crescent Moon**

**Sorry I took so long...=(  
**

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Inuyasha...

Chapter 10: 

Inuyasha and Sango burst into the small dungeon.

"Sango! Lord Inuyashaaaaa!" a tiny voice squealed. The two looked at the corner of the room and saw and little girl in an orange checkered kimono.

Rin.

"There you are, you little squirt," Inuyasha said gruffly. Rin tried to run towards them, but the chains around her ankle and wrists stopped her. Inuyasha quickly walked forward and with several flicks of the wrist with Tetsaiga, cut the chains to pieces leaving a free and happy Rin.

"Where's Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked. "He always comes for me."

"As you should already know, that bastard Sesshomaru is basically crippled, so there's no way in seven hells is he coming to rescue you," Inuyasha snapped.

Sango shot him a disapproving look at using such language around a small child. However, Rin remained didn't seem too bothered by it.

"Let's get out of here," Inuyasha said with Rin on his shoulders. Sango nodded and the three of them started out of the dungeons.

"There you are..." a silky voice reached their ears. "My, my, my, I see that you have found our little prisoner..." Natsumi appeared right in front of them.

At the sight of Natsumi, Rin whimpered, clutched Inuyasha tightly and tried to hide under his hair.

"Oh quit that," Natsumi scoffed. "I can see you as clear as day."

"What do you want with us, Natsumi?" Sango snapped.

"Oh, I thought I made that quite clear already..." Natsumi smirked. "I'm here to end your life."

Sango and Inuyasha scowled at the same time. They both knew that they couldn't defeat Natsumi. They just had to get Rin out of here, fast.

Natsumi was taken by surprise when Inuyasha leaped in the opposite direction.

"Oh come on, are you running away again?" Natsumi said with a hint of exasperation in his voice as he watched them disappear into the darkness of the castle halls.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Meanwhile, Kagome and Miroku were busy battling an outraged Naraku.

'Damn them!' Naraku seethed. 'Damn them to hell.' They had taken away his opportunity to take powers from perhaps the one of the most powerful demons on the face of the earth. 'The bitch Kagome and bastard Miroku are distracting me while Sesshomaru escapes!' Naraku felt his blood boil. He dodged another sacred arrow from the miko. Naraku sent out a wave of saimyosho to prevent the monk from using his dreaded wind tunnel.

Miroku was reduced to only using his sacred sutras (the paper thingies or whatever you call them) and staff. He created barriers to protect Kagome.

"Thank you, Miroku," Kagome said quickly before avoiding another tentacle.

"I have no business with you mortals," Naraku scowled. He turned into a black tornado with swarms of saimyosho swirling around it. "Till next time."

With that, the tornado disappeared.

"Damn..." Miroku said quietly. Kagome sighed and sat down.

"I wonder how Inuyasha and Sango are doing with trying to rescue Rin," she said.

"Yes..." Miroku said thoughtfully. "And I wonder how Shippo and Kirara are doing with the wounded Sesshomaru..."

"Perhaps we should go look for them," Kagome suggested.

"You're right. It's not good to stay split up," Miroku agreed. He picked up this staff and stood up. Kagome followed suit.

They walked in the direction Kirara, Shippo, and Sesshomaru had flown off in, hoping to run into them.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

Sesshomaru moaned quietly as consciousness slowly seeped into his battered body.

"Ah...he's waking up!" Shippo said. Kirara purred, showing that she noted what Shippo said.

Sesshomaru groaned a bit more and forced his eyes open a crack. He realized that he was lying on his stomach, his arms lying by his side, and his face turned to the left so his right cheek pressed against the ground.

'What happened...?' he thought, dazed. 'Oh...that's right. Naraku attacked me when Inuyasha was gone...he was about to absorb my demonic powers until the demon cat swept me to safety, along with the kitsune. Naraku did a number on me...' Sesshomaru wasn't happy about the previous events. Not happy at all.

He slowly inched his aching arms in front of him, trying to prop himself up. He felt the dried blood that was caked on his face. 'Naraku might've broken my head...' he thought grimly. His head pounded and it felt like a hundred hammers were smashing his head from the inside.

"Sesshomaru, how are you feeling?" Shippo asked, hopping to his side.

Sesshomaru grumbled in reply, gasping as a bolt of pain shot through his body. He continued to push himself up with his elbows until he was in a kneeling position. He looked at the kitsune who was staring up at him, worry flooding his eyes. The whole world seemed to be spinning...

"Damn it, stop moving around!" Sesshomaru commanded to Shippo.

"...huh...?" Shippo asked, confused. Then realized washed over him. He tried to hide a smile. "Sesshomaru, I'm not moving at all...you're just dizzy..."

Sesshomaru groaned and fell back down. His stomach seemed to move with the spinning of the world.

"Do want some water?" Shippo asked.

Sesshomaru shook his head and winced as his stomach did a dangerous flip.

"Here, just have some water," Shippo said firmly. He wasn't stupid. He knew Sesshomaru would decline all help and admit that he was perfectly fine, even when he was reeling.

"No..." Sesshomaru murmured.

"YES," Shippo insisted. Sesshomaru was weak, so Shippo was thinking of forcing Sesshomaru to drink the water.

He stepped close to the demon lord and gently flipped him over, so he was on his back. Sesshomaru swallowed convulsively at the process. Flipping over wasn't helping his stomach.

"Open up," Shippo said gently but firmly.

Sesshomaru shook his head, closing his eyes.

Shippo sighed. He forced Sesshomaru to sit up, grunting under his weight.

"What are you doing..." Sesshomaru rasped, panting in pain.

"Giving you water," Shippo grunted, propping Sesshomaru against a tree. Sesshomaru was nearly unconscious until something a cold liquid slipped down his throat. He nearly coughed the water back up, but his whole body took the water and he swallowed it.

"Mhm..." he groaned softly. He didn't want to admit it, but the water really helped him. When he drank his fill, and leaned back against the tree, sighing in exhaust, and was asleep in seconds.

Shippo smiled at the demon lord, before leaning back against Kirara and falling asleep himself. Kirara was left to gurad the two.

**OoOoOoOoOo**

**Well...I'll say this chapter took a while to write! Oh well, and update is and update, is it not? Anyways, I'm working on my next story, and it might be posted soon, so keep an eye out for it. It will be called "Resurected." (About Sesshy and Inu's papa being brought back from the dead...but there's a twist!) =D =D =D **

**anyways, please review and i'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! can't promise anything though...**

**luv always, Sesshyfan123 ^^  
**


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